How to write your first novel
Set yourself up for success
Reading time: 7 min
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Intro
During my first year of university, I decided I wanted to write a novel. So I thought about a story, opened up a word document and—BOOM—believe it or not, two years later the novel was still unwritten.
I got to type “The End” at the bottom of that document eventually, but I knew it was no way of writing a book.
Writing a novel is hard work, especially your first one, and starting is much, much easier than finishing. Writing a novel, in my opinion, is closer to designing a building than it is to composing a poem; in the sense that inspiration can get you only to a point. Beyond that, you need discipline and structure, like with anything worth pursuing in life.
After years of writing consistently in the gaps of a busy life, I think I found a set of tricks that work very well for me, keeping my writing nearly consistent even during the most challenging times.
As always with these types of suggestions, take what’s useful, ignore the rest, argue if you disagree or ask any question you might have.
1. Read A lot
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Just as owning a boiler doesn’t entitle you to replace or repair one, having an idea doesn’t mean you’ll be able to make a book out of it.
Writing without reading is like cooking a dish you would never eat. You can surely produce something, but there’s a strong chance that it won’t be any good.
And yet, in the world, there are more writers than readers.
In two separate creative writing courses, I found most of my fellow students not to be readers at all. Once, when the teacher asked about our favourite authors’ style, many couldn’t think of a single one they’d read recently enough to comment on their style and voice.
I’m not saying you can’t write if you don’t read, but I strongly doubt you’ll be able to do it well.
And I’m not alone.
Someone asked the question of how important it is reading to write well to Ken Follett himself during a presentation I was lucky enough to witness live (ah, life before Covid) and he clearly said he doesn’t know any professional writer who is not an avid reader.
I know it’s hard, but would you ever tell someone who’s trying to lose weight that they don’t have to exercise or eat healthy food? This is the same thing.
I’ll expand on how to read more and what to read in another article, but for now, pick up a book you think you’ll like and start reading.
2. Make writing a priority
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We all got busy lives, don’t we? I mean, my daughter was born in January, I’ve got a very frail dog to care for, a full-time job in engineering, my wife has undergone surgery and our families live in another country; allow me to say my hands are quite full.
It all comes down to how much you want something.
As Laura Vanderkam says in her Ted speech; if an emergency eats up seven hours in your fully packed week, wouldn’t you find the time to deal with it?
Of course you would. It’s a matter of priorities.
But if you had to find seven hours—the same seven hours—to train for a marathon, would you still find them? Exactly.
During these first few weeks of life of my daughter, in order to make some progress on my novel, or even to write this very article, I had to postpone watching tv, going for a run, sleeping, eating, getting dressed and brushing my teeth.
Writing, after my family’s wellbeing, is my absolute priority.
If you can’t finish your book, ask yourself: would you rather write the next paragraph or brush your teeth?
3. Turn creativity into a habit
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The myth of the artist guided by inspiration and inspiration alone is just that: a myth.
Beginning a day with the preoccupation of finding the time to write at one point or another, when you’re “free,” is counterproductive for two reasons.
First of all, you’re already downgrading writing to the lowest possible priority, which means you’ll probably not find that half an hour to outline your villain.
Secondly, as your energy levels rise and fall during the day, you won’t be in the optimal mood to write.
Habits work because they make space for additional mental effort. Even if you don’t find the optimal time of the day to sit in front of your keyboard, just doing it every day at the same time will set your brain to success.
That’s exactly what happened to me.
This is the most underrated aspect of creative work.
If there is no space to wander in your fictional world, you’ll have to deal with the blank page syndrome sooner than you expect.
If you’re like me, you might be juggling podcasts, articles, newsletters, magazines, webinars, books, audiobooks, social media, tv shows, meetings, video calls, YouTube, texts and general commitments besides your project. If every second of your day is filled with input, your output won’t have any space to grow and bear fruits.
Protect some of your mental space.
Take a shower without music. Go to the toilet without your phone. Go for a walk without headphones. Do the dishes in silence. It’s not much, but I guarantee it works.
My protected times for mind space are: shower, laundry, and walking the dog. That’s it. You don’t need an hour a day; just a few minutes will do the trick.
5. Think about it
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Let’s say you set your priorities straight and you managed to carve four hours out of your week to write. Four hours on Saturday mornings.
The last thing you want to do is sit down at your local Starbucks and waste your precious time thinking about what you’re going to write, what comes next, where you left off or even re-reading what you forgot about your own work.
If you want to sprint, you first need to warm up.
Remember point 4, about your mind space? Use (some of) those moments to think about what you’re going to write. If you think about your novel, you’ll be ready to dive into your draft as soon as you open the document.
It seems obvious when you say it out loud, but I’d never realised how true this simple concept is until I heard it in one of Brandon Sanderson’s lessons; free on YouTube.
Remember, the great majority of the writing process happens in your head; once you have your story clear inside you—as Chuck Palahniuk says—the rest is only typing.
Bonus: Find a community
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Maybe the most famous writers’ group of all times, the Inklings, who met in Oxford in the ‘30s and ‘40s, featured authors such as CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and, without it, the world wouldn’t have had masterpieces like The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
Writing can be an incredibly lonely hobby, but if you’re passionate about the craft, believe me, you are in good company. Talking about writing with people who enjoy it as much as you do is both inspiring and liberating and, sometimes, an easy way out of a rut.
Although in matters of networking the internet is your friend, I suggest joining a local group, if possible.
I’m a member of the Hampshire Writing Society, which is a fantastic association organising presentations, contests, critiques and much more just around the corner from my town, and through them, I found my personal writing group.
We’re still very early in our writing careers, but their support has been invaluable so far and I can’t stress enough how important it is to find like-minded people.
Let me know when you finish your first novel. I’d love to read it.
Alla prossima
